San Antonio College Relays

Friday night, Janeene Vickers, one of the top high school track runners in the country, was receiving an hour-long acupuncture treatment, 12 needles in all, hoping to heal a persistent groin injury that has bothered her for months. Saturday afternoon, in her first high-level outdoor competition of 1987, the Pomona High School senior won three of the four events she entered in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays at Walnut. Her wins included a hand-timed 42.

West Covina's Beejay Lee is used to having his competitors look down on him, quite literally. The 5-foot-6 sprinter said that football players and track runners often underestimate him, thinking, "that little dude can't get me." But as he stood at the starting line at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Saturday, he said to himself, "I don't want anyone taller than me to beat me." He proceeded to win the 100-meter-dash in 10.61 seconds, tying Livermore Granada's George Atkinson for the fastest time in the state.

One is a Valley transplant and the other has been a fixture in local distance-running circles since 1977. And on Saturday night at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays in Walnut, Darcy Arreola and Farron Fields each qualified for The Athletics Congress national championships. Arreola, a 1986 graduate of Grossmont High in La Mesa, finished seventh in the women's 3,000 meters in a personal best of 9 minutes 12.77 seconds. Fields, a 1979 graduate of Granada Hills High, ran 28:45.

He's not faster than a speeding bullet. He's not more powerful than a locomotive. And he can't leap tall buildings in a single bound. But Savante Stringfellow, who has Superman tattoos on his left biceps and left thigh, has led a U.S. resurgence in the long jump in the last two years. U.S. long jumpers, from Ellery Clark in the first modern Olympic Games at Athens in 1896 to Carl Lewis in the Games at Atlanta a century later, had won 20 of the 22 Olympics in which they had competed. U.S.

A track athlete can't guarantee a world record on any given day because there are too many variables. Even so, it would be surprising if four athletes didn't set one today in the 31st annual Mt. San Antonio College Relays at Walnut. Four of the world's fastest sprinters have been assembled for an assault on the 800-meter relay record. It's a dream team of Joe DeLoach, Floyd Heard, Danny Everett and Carl Lewis, who are primed to break the record of 1 minute 20.26 seconds set by USC in 1978.

As he hunkered down into the starting blocks before the boys' 200-meter run at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays Saturday, Erik Mitchell found himself in the worst position. Mitchell, a senior at Los Alamitos High School, was stuck in the outside lane. Thus, he would not see his competition for at least the first 100 meters and therefore would have little to gauge his pace. As it turned out, Mitchell left all his competitors behind in the final 80 meters, running a personal-best time of 21.

As sprinter Leroy Burrell settled into the starting blocks for the 200 meter dash at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on Sunday, he looked to his left. Burrell, a junior at the University of Houston, couldn't help noticing Danny Everett, the Olympic bronze medalist in the 400, who was dropping down to the 200. "I wasn't really focused on beating Danny," Burrell said. "I was focusing on running my race." Burrell ran his race well. Burrell burst out of the blocks, ran a strong curve and maintained his lead in the straightaway.

As fast as they are, it appears as if the world-class sprinters from the Santa Monica Track Club cannot escape misfortune. For the second time this year, they failed to break the world record in the 800-meter relay, and for the second time, they claimed it was through no fault of their own. In their latest attempt Saturday at the Mt. SAC Relays, it appeared as if an awkward handoff between the third runner, Danny Everett, and the anchor runner,...

It has been almost eight months since Carl Lewis was involved in the Race of the Century, specifically 100 meters, at the World Championships in Rome. But the memory lingers on, at least in the Lewis camp. A rematch with Canada's Ben Johnson would appeal to Lewis before the Olympic Games if it can be arranged. Until then Lewis and his coach, Tom Tellez, can only reflect on and analyze the remarkable race Aug. 30.

Cal State Northridge distance runner Darcy Arreola and just about any sprinter from Rio Mesa High appear to have an affinity for the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. Arreola placed second in the women's invitational 1,500 meters, the third consecutive year she has finished in the top three at Mt. SAC, while, for the third consecutive year, a Rio Mesa sprinter--this time it was Marion Jones--set a nation-leading mark in the girls' 400 meters.

It turns out the official world record in the women's 300 meters isn't so soft after all. That became apparent Sunday afternoon in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays at Walnut when Marion Jones, the Queen of the Olympics in Sydney last fall, fell short in her bid to break the world record at that distance. Jones, who became the first woman to win medals in five track and field events in the same Olympics, posted a runaway victory in the seven-runner field, but her time of 35.

Don't expect all of the region's top high school track and field athletes to compete in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays today. A good turnout may have been anticipated after the Arcadia Invitational at Arcadia High was postponed until April 25 because of rain last Saturday, but that won't be the case.

He is only a sophomore, but Miguel Fletcher of Alemany is considered the fastest male in the state. He ran state-leading times of 10.47 seconds in the 100 meters at the Trabuco Hills invitational in March and then 21.06 in the 200 at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays last month.

Miguel Fletcher SCHOOL: Alemany SPORT: Track and field YEAR: Sophomore SEASON AT A GLANCE: Fletcher has been on a tear the past three weeks. He ran a state-leading time of 10.47 seconds in the 100 meters in the Trabuco Hills Invitational on March 30 and posted nation-leading 200 times of 21.44 at Trabuco Hills and 21.06 in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. WEEK AT A GLANCE: Fletcher's clocking Saturday at Mt.

High jumper Holly Kelly and javelin thrower Brian Crouser were suspended by The Athletics Congress for drug-testing violations. Kelly, who competes for Florida State, was banned for three months, retroactive to April 21, for testing positive for the stimulant pseudoephedrine at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. Her suspension time has been completed. Crouser received a two-year suspension for failing to appear for an out-of-competition drug test during the week of March 11.

Cal State Northridge distance runner Darcy Arreola and just about any sprinter from Rio Mesa High appear to have an affinity for the Mt. San Antonio College Relays. Arreola placed second in the women's invitational 1,500 meters, the third consecutive year she has finished in the top three at Mt. SAC, while, for the third consecutive year, a Rio Mesa sprinter--this time it was Marion Jones--set a nation-leading mark in the girls' 400 meters.

As several high school runners discovered Saturday, outperforming a Mt. San Antonio College Invitational field frequently is no less challenging than outperforming the nation. For the second consecutive year, the Mt. SAC meet produced four nation-leading marks. And for the second year in a row, a Rio Mesa High sprinter topped the national list in the girls' 400 meters. Meanwhile, Agoura High's Bryan Dameworth lost a 1,500 race in which a nation-leading mark was recorded.